China Roses
by bingbing03
Summary: "I am no more a brother than Harry is." Years after graduation, Ginny meets Oliver again, and feelings develop. But will Ginny's past make her regard him only as a brother?
1. Angel's Tears

China Roses  
  
Angel's Tears  
  
/Who can tell me if we have heaven,  
  
Who can say the way it should be;  
  
Moonlight holly, the Sappho Comet,  
  
Angel's tears below a tree. /   
  
Ginny Weasley sat on the park bench. Tears streamed down her face. She doubled over with grief, her entire body shaken by her racking sobs.  
  
She hated her life.  
  
For the past seventeen years, her overprotective brothers had overshadowed her, smothering her with their insistent protection. Ginny had never seen the world through independent eyes. Finally, when she had graduated, her brothers had dispersed, and were now spread across the world, occupied with their own work.  
  
That was when Ginny had met him.  
  
His name was Nicholas. He was one of the most attractive men she had ever met- he had deep, soulful eyes, a voice that still echoed in her mind, a beautiful gravelly tenor. He was a Quidditch player, meaning that he was as Quidditch players came- well built and very athletic. Nicholas was charming, too. Ginny visualized one of his heart-melting smiles, causing more tears to flow.  
  
She had been with Nicholas for two years, an unexpectedly long period of time for a relationship with Nicholas, she had later found out. He was a womaniser; unable to resist any beautiful woman he came across. He had met Ginny at a bar, and he had ditched her at a bar, too.  
  
At first, Ginny lived with Hermione, but then Hermione had married Harry a few months later, and Ginny had to move back to her mother's. She wasn't an ingrate, she didn't detest living with her mother, but it hurt her to see her mother worrying about her all the time, and Ginny could also notice the way her father would get all worked up at the mere mention of Nicholas.  
  
So Ginny had once again moved out. She finally landed a job at the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of Magical Transportation. She had believed that it would keep her mind off a certain Quidditch player, but she was tragically wrong.  
  
She had been posted to Faction E, assigned to be in charge of regulating broomsticks, and ironically, it landed her right where she least wanted to be: around dozens of Quidditch teams.  
  
That was indirectly the reason why she was sitting at the park bench crying, during her lunch break. Her sandwich had already been charitably donated to the ducks at the pond.  
  
She recalled bitterly what had happened fifteen minutes ago.  
  
/Ginny walked nervously into the locker room of the Chudley Cannons, knowing what would happen next. One of the players looked up from their tactic discussion.  
  
"Kipling, the Ministry rep is here!" he told his captain.  
  
Nicholas looked up. As he saw her, he arched an eyebrow. Not getting up from the bench, he smirked, "Why hello, Ginny. It is wonderful to see you."  
  
Ginny felt anger boiling up inside her. "Oh, I almost thought you were someone else, Nicholas. Was that a raccoon you stuffed up your collar?" she quipped sarcastically.  
  
The players looked on apprehensively, sensing the evident tension between Ginny and their captain.  
  
Ginny tapped her foot impatiently. "Well, hurry up, I haven't got all day. Brooms please. Faction F will be coming round soon to do a robe regulation check."  
  
One by one, the players got up and let her check their brooms. Finally, it was Nicholas' turn.  
  
"Never thought you would get this job, Weasley. Or maybe one of your many family members rigged it," he sniggered.  
  
Ginny kept silent, clenching her teeth while performing another charm on the broom.  
  
"Do you know what I was doing last night, Weasley?" his voice was soft.  
  
Ginny did not answer.  
  
"I was shagging dear little Leticia Greene like nobody's business."  
  
Ginny turned red.  
  
"My, you're blushing. Pity you didn't have the chance to shag me. You're too stupid for your own good. God, Leticia Green can kiss good." He had lowered his voice to a whisper.  
  
Ginny performed an anti-jinx charm so forcefully Nicholas' broom might have shattered into a million pieces.  
  
"Angry, are you? Wish you had the chance, didn't you? Well, you could have a chance. You just need to shag your way back into my good books-" Nicholas' husky whisper was rudely interrupted as Ginny slapped him with as much force as her brother, Ron, employed when he was hitting bludgers for Puddlemere United.  
  
The entire team looked on, shocked, as they saw their captain being sent sprawling on the floor by a fragile-looking broomstick regulations officer.  
  
With gritted teeth, Ginny shouted angrily, "To shag you would be the most self-degrading thing I could do, Kipling!"  
  
She turned around and threw Kipling's broom to the player that had noticed her when she had come in.  
  
"The last broom. Good day." Ginny felt so numb that she couldn't even say anything nice to the other players.  
  
Stepping over Kipling, she made her way out of the room, tears stinging her eyes. /  
  
Ginny slowly stood up. She would go to the nearby floo station to get transport to the Puddlemere station. Once she reached there, she would stop at the toilet, wash her face, reapply her makeup, and make her way to the Puddlemere United Quidditch home ground. Maybe she should tell her brother what happened. And then again, maybe not.  
  
A/N:  
  
There! Done! Two and one third pages, and the nice people haven't even appeared. This is so unlike me... Grin. Anyway, a quick disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me (Rowling would have a fit if she saw them in this state), except Nicholas. Heh. I only create jerks. This is for my beta reader, coolone007, who has not written back yet. (April 8th, 2003) 


	2. Puddlemere

China Roses  
  
Puddlemere  
  
/You talk of the break of morning  
  
As you view the new aurora,  
  
Cloud in crimson, the key of heaven,  
  
One love carved in acajou. /  
  
Ginny splashed cold water on her face. Her makeup ruined, she reapplied her lipstick. Groaning, she retied her ponytail. She bit her lip, telling herself not to cry later. Taking a deep breath, she walked out of the washroom and made her way to the Puddlemere United locker rooms.  
  
The air was much friendlier as Ginny walked into the locker room. Once she stepped through the door, she was greeted with a rousing "Hello, Ginny!"  
  
Ginny tried to smile as she observed all the cheery faces that greeted her. There was her brother, Ron, grinning from ear to ear, with his beater's bat. Next to him was Harry, poised and defined, green eyes shining behind his glasses. Dean Thomas, the other beater, waved energetically at her. Alicia Spinnet and two other female chasers, Colleen Melville and May Keys engulfed her in a large group hug.  
  
Last of all was Oliver Wood, Puddlemere's captain. He was leaning on the lockers, obviously interrupted by Ginny's appearance. Smiling, he strode over to her and shook her hand.  
  
"So you're the Ministry rep. No wonder everyone was so restless today," he told her. Turning to face his team, he reprimanded, "And you didn't even tell me!"  
  
Everyone burst out laughing. Ginny felt her vision blurring up, as a lump rose up her throat. She couldn't stop it- she had to let her feelings go. The hot tears flowed down her cheeks, and she sobbed uncontrollably. The pleasant buzz of noise ceased- everyone was stunned.  
  
Ginny just stood there, tears streaming down her face, not knowing how to stop. Even though her vision was blurred, she could see that the team was in shock.  
  
Suddenly, Ginny felt a pair of strong arms engulf her in a warm, comforting hug. She didn't exactly care who it was; she just instinctively buried her face in that person's chest, navy blue Quidditch robes rubbing against her cheek.  
  
"Are you all right?" he asked.  
  
That person was Oliver.  
  
Ginny looked up, as the rest of the team echoed Oliver's query. Before she could dash away, Oliver sat her down firmly on a bench.  
  
"Don't worry, just tell us; if it was something we were doing, we're sorry- there's no need to cry, Ginny," Ron told Ginny comfortingly as he moved over to sit next to her.  
  
"You're- you're just too nice..." Ginny sobbed into Ron's shoulder.  
  
Ron patted her on the back. Ginny brushed away the tears with the back of her hand, and told them what had happened.  
  
The team's reactions were almost the same. Ron inhaled sharply, and Ginny could feel his grip on her arm tighten. Harry said very bad words that he probably would never had said in front of Hermione, and Dean Thomas proceeded to grind the flattened cigarette butt that was lying on the ground into fragments after spitting on it. Alicia, Keys and Melville gave her a large group hug again.  
  
Only Oliver was silent throughout the whole time.  
  
As the noise died down, Oliver looked up and said quietly, "Our next game is with the Cannons."  
  
The team nodded.  
  
"Let's beat them to pulp."  
  
The team erupted into loud cheers at Oliver's statement. Harry repeated his earlier display of profanity against the Cannons again, causing Dean Thomas to nudge him and remind him that there were women in the room.  
  
...  
  
Oliver sat with the bench between his legs, as he observed Ginny performing charms on his broom. The rest of the team had gone out to do some discussion with their agent, leaving Oliver behind to make sure all the brooms were properly checked by Ginny.  
  
He watched Ginny tuck stray strands of her flaming red hair behind her ear, as sweat glistened on her forehead, thinking how beautiful she was. It was a pity she had to get involved with a crook like Kipling. Finally, after she performed the last charm, she looked up at him.  
  
"I'm done, Oliver."  
  
Oliver snapped out of his reverie.  
  
"Oh, um, yeah. Yeah, you're... um done," he stuttered.  
  
Ginny smiled at him.  
  
"So... D'you want to have lunch?" he asked her, glancing at his watch. It was almost seven.  
  
"I've had it already, thanks," Ginny told him. She blushed as her stomach growled.  
  
"What about dinner?"  
  
Ginny started to protest, realizing that she didn't have enough money to pay for it.  
  
Oliver looked straight at her, the corners of his mouth twitching.  
  
"No money?"  
  
Ginny nodded uncomfortably.  
  
Smiling wryly, he lifted her up with ease and slung her over his shoulder, the way someone would sling a bag of potatoes over his shoulder. Ignoring Ginny's distressed cries, he marched all the way down the stairs. Ginny had given up protesting- instead, she was laughing harder than she ever had.  
  
It was all very enjoyable until Oliver ran straight into the rest of the team.  
  
"Just going for dinner," Oliver said guiltily, putting Ginny back down on her feet, his face flushed red. Ginny regained her balance, turning slightly pink.  
  
In normal circumstances, Ron would have put Oliver through a grueling interrogation, but this time, Ron just placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder, saying, "You'd better do her good, Oliver. You'd better."  
  
A/N:  
  
Ah! Another chapter up!! :)  
  
Thanks to:  
  
Neni Potter: Did this chapter help you?  
  
Siverwing: I love those thumbs-up things! Thanks!  
  
Andufeniel: I've already done the WHOLE fic, so I'm just taking my time to mail it to my beta and stuff...  
  
Ravenwise: Thanks!  
  
Claire: Thankie!! 


	3. An Elevator

China Roses  
  
An Elevator  
  
/One told me of China Roses,  
  
One a thousand nights and one night,  
  
Earth's last picture, the end of evening  
  
Hue of indigo and blue. /  
  
Ginny laughed softly as Oliver told her yet another schoolboy joke. She looked around. His apartment was a pleasant, not very fancy affair. The furniture was the bare necessities. There were a coffee table, a sofa; a television set, and quite a small dining table. The carpet was a dark and horrible shade of maroon. But Ginny didn't really care.  
  
"You're a great cook, Oliver," she told him.  
  
Oliver shrugged. "Nah. Just normal fare."  
  
"It's my second helping of spaghetti."  
  
Oliver looked up. "You want more?"  
  
They laughed nervously, both doubting their own feelings. They suddenly became very interested in what was on their plates.  
  
After a brief moment of silence, Ginny stole a glance at Oliver. His forehead was creased in concentration, and his eyes gave his evident apprehension away. He looked up. Ginny was caught.  
  
"Oliver?" Ginny whispered his name.  
  
"Yeah?" Oliver was looking nervous again.  
  
"Thanks. Thanks for that hug. Thanks for dinner. Thanks- thanks for everything. I- I think I'd better leave. It's getting late." Ginny could see Oliver's face falling.  
  
"I should send you back, Ginny."  
  
Ginny laughed. "Just the floo station."  
  
Oliver shook his head firmly. "Your hotel."  
  
Ginny relented.  
  
...  
  
After a whirlwind journey by floo, Oliver and Ginny walked slowly down the road. Oliver stole a sideways glance at her. He was positively itching to reach out and hold her hand. He wanted to do what they always did in romantic dramas- he wanted to push her dramatically against a lamppost and snog her like there was no tomorrow. But instead he folded his arms over his chest. For the first time that evening, he felt cold, because he had lent his coat to Ginny.  
  
Meanwhile, Ginny was feeling quite snug in Oliver's thick coat. She glanced at him- it was obvious that he was cold; from the way he folded his arms and shivered.  
  
"Do you..." Ginny began, indicating the coat.  
  
Oliver shook his head. "It's fine. You keep it."  
  
They walked along in awkward silence, not daring to say anything. Finally, they reached Ginny's hotel. Ginny meant to bid him farewell as she the elevator, but Oliver stepped in with her, a nervous smile on his face.  
  
"I was afraid you would get assaulted-" he tried to explain, but the lift had jerked to a stop.  
  
"Your floor?" Oliver questioned, wondering why the door didn't open. The lights flickered off.  
  
Ginny's blood ran cold. "No it isn't, Oliver."  
  
"I'll use magic," Oliver told her, whipping out his wand. "Alohomora," he whispered. The lift door opened, but all they saw was the blank wall, before the door closed again.  
  
"Shit." Oliver's irritation was obvious.  
  
"Double shit. Press the bell, Oliver," Ginny whispered. Oliver did so. A tinny-sounding voice came over the intercom.  
  
"Don't worry, help will be coming soon."  
  
"How soon?" Oliver asked anxiously.  
  
"Umn, half an hour at most?"  
  
"Damn."  
  
"I'll have to switch off the intercom now, it's using too much electricity."  
  
"Okay." Oliver's forehead glistened with perspiration.  
  
There was an awkward silence for a few minutes.  
  
"We might die, y'know? There's a brief possibility that they might gas us." Oliver sounded serious, even though the idea was ridiculous.  
  
"Don't joke, Oliver. That's not funny."  
  
"I'm not joking."  
  
"Oh."  
  
There was another silence.  
  
"If we die..." Ginny trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.  
  
She suddenly felt Oliver standing very close to her. Without saying anything, he leaned forward and closed the gap between them.  
  
If Ginny could, she would have cried out in surprise, but since her tongue was busy at work in Oliver's mouth, all she could manage was a low moan. Finally, Oliver pulled away, gasping for breath.  
  
"Oliver, when-" Ginny began, but was cut off by Oliver placing two fingers over her mouth.  
  
"Ginny Weasley," he sounded hoarse. "I have loved you since the day I saw you at the alumni match."  
  
Ginny remembered the time when Hogwarts had called back the old Quidditch teams to have an alumni match. That was during her seventh year, and it was actually to celebrate the downfall of Lord Voldemort. Ginny had been Head Girl and a Gryffindor chaser at that time, and was quite popular. Before the actual matches, the alumni teams and the new teams tried playing against each other, and Ginny proved quite a tough customer for Oliver. But Ginny had never really paid attention to Oliver, being more occupied with Harry. She had always thought of Oliver as an older brother ever since she knew him on a personal basis, and now...  
  
"Here you are, declaring your love for me... And I thought you were a brother," Ginny whispered.  
  
"I am no more your brother than Harry is, or Dean," Oliver whispered back.  
  
Ginny placed a hand on his chest. "They are my brothers," she murmured.  
  
"Do you love me?" Oliver finally asked. Ginny could feel his heart pounding underneath her fingers.  
  
"Oliver..." Ginny did not know how to answer him.  
  
Oliver backed away. "I'm sorry about that, Ginny. Terribly sorry." Ginny could hear him choke slightly.  
  
"Oliver, I-" Ginny began, but the lights blinked on again and the elevator started to move again. It opened on the next floor, to a very worried hotel attendant and mechanic.  
  
"You'll have to take the other elevator, sir-" the attendant began apologetically, but Oliver pushed past her, saying, "I'll take the stairs, I'm in a hurry."  
  
Ginny was left there with the attendant, who was apologizing profusely. Slowly, she stepped into the other elevator and went to her hotel room.  
  
A/N:  
  
Aww, that was so terribly hard to write!! :) Ha, I made Ginny evil. Poor Oliver... **sniffle**  
  
A little disclaimer: I don't own any nice people, only the jerk Nicholas and the two chasers. All the song extracts were from Enya's China Roses. Yeah. I think the storyline's mine, but it's damn clichéd, so I bet someone used it before... :)  
  
Anyway, I'm off to write another soppy chapter!! It features the biggest jerk of all time, Nicholas. I'm flattered- I'm actually good at making jerks!! :)  
  
**Evil maniacal grin**, or EMG.  
  
Arwen 


End file.
